Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Westward, ho!

I am staring at a BIG empty suitcase that needs to be filled. With what Cousin Gina and I call our ugly clothes. Translation: hiking boots, those weird pants that are long but zip off and become (ugly) shorts, thick socks (not cute even in hot pink), floppy hat, rain gear, etc etc etc. Yes, folks, I'm going to Alaska. Which probably has most of you already laughing. I can walk a million miles on a beach or down city streets. But woods? Not so much. You will remember my (mis) adventures in Uganda. The gorilla punching me in the jungle. Me crying when I had to cross the rickety bridge across troubled waters (read: hippo infested). The hike into a crater to view chimps. Yes, yes, yes, all of it AMAZING. All of it worthwhile. But this girl is happier on a sailboat or a subway car.

Still. When you get invited to teach in GORGEOUS Homer, Alaska on Kechemak Bay, you say YES! The town looks so beautiful. A spit of land sticking out into the ocean. Sea lions and otters. Very cool, and I am psyched. The question is why I decided to go deep into Danali National Park, stay in a cabin with an outhouse, and hike for three days? There are bears in those woods. And moose. And wolverines. I know it will be fun! I know it will be memorable! I know I will cry. Frequently. Still, Annabelle and Cousin Gina and I are heading west on Thursday. I will get my fill of salty air in Homer. Then I will don my ugly clothes and hike. No internet there, so if I come out alive I will post pictures on FB then. For now, I will pack up. And since Homer is first on the trip, many beautiful ocean-y type pictures to come. And as Cousin Gina reminded me, we slid down Incan ruins on our butts (fear of heights) in Peru. I was hidden in a tree in the Ugandan jungle to protect me from my hairy lover the gorilla. We are about to have another adventure! And despite my bellyaching, I am excited!